Communication apparatus, communication method, and program

ABSTRACT

[Object] To provide a communication apparatus, a communication method, and a program, each of which is capable of flexibly controlling operation of the communication apparatus in accordance with a change in communication environment while reducing power consumption.[Solution] A communication apparatus includes: a control module configured to control operation of the communication apparatus; and a communication module configured to determine whether or not information obtained by reception from another communication apparatus has been changed and control state transition of the control module in a case where it is determined that the information obtained by the reception has been changed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/198,786, filed Nov. 22, 2018, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 15/303,353, filed Oct. 11, 2016 (now U.S. Pat. No.10,182,394), which is based on PCT filing PCT/JP2015/053878, filed onFeb. 12, 2015, which claims priority of Japanese Patent Application No.2014-096869, filed on May 8, 2014, the entire contents of each areincorporated herein by reference as a portion of the application.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a communication apparatus, acommunication method, and a program.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, a portable communication apparatus having portabilityhas been developed and productized in accordance with development of aninformation communication technology. However, such a portablecommunication apparatus generally tends to be reduced in size, andtherefore it is difficult to increase the size of a battery to bemounted. In view of this, it is required to reduce power consumption inorder to extend operating time.

For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses an invention in which, in thecase where, in communication between devices in which a Bluetooth(registered trademark) system is mounted, a connection request istransmitted from another device, a host central processing unit (CPU) isstarted only when the Bluetooth system determines that the anotherdevice has been paired and connection with the another device isperformed.

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

Patent Literature 1: JP 2008-113334A

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

However, in the invention disclosed in Patent Literature 1, the host CPUis not started unless a connection request is transmitted from a paireddevice, and therefore it is difficult to cause the host CPU to flexiblyperform processing in accordance with a change in communicationenvironment including an unspecified device.

In view of this, the present disclosure proposes a communicationapparatus, a communication method, and a program, each of which is new,improved, and capable of flexibly controlling operation of thecommunication apparatus in accordance with a change in communicationenvironment while reducing power consumption.

Solution to Problem

According to the present disclosure, there is provided a communicationapparatus including: a control module configured to control operation ofthe communication apparatus; and a communication module configured todetermine whether or not information obtained by reception from anothercommunication apparatus has been changed and control state transition ofthe control module in a case where it is determined that the informationobtained by the reception has been changed.

According to the present disclosure, there is provided a communicationmethod including: controlling operation of a communication apparatus byusing a control module; determining whether or not information obtainedby reception from another communication apparatus has been changed; andcontrolling state transition of the control module in a case where it isdetermined that the information obtained by the reception has beenchanged.

According to the present disclosure, there is provided a program causinga computer to realize a function of controlling operation of acommunication apparatus by using a control module, a function ofdetermining whether or not information obtained by reception fromanother communication apparatus has been changed, and a function ofcontrolling state transition of the control module in a case where it isdetermined that the information obtained by the reception has beenchanged.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

As described above, the present disclosure provides a communicationapparatus, a communication method, and a program capable of flexiblycontrolling operation of the communication apparatus in accordance witha change in communication environment while reducing power consumption.Note that the effects described above are not necessarily limitative.With or in the place of the above effects, there may be achieved any oneof the effects described in this specification or other effects that maybe grasped from this specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram for describing an overview of a communicationapparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic functional configurationof a communication apparatus according to a first embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 3A shows an example of operation performed on the basis ofexistence information by the communication apparatus according to thepresent embodiment.

FIG. 3B shows another example of the operation performed on the basis ofexistence information by the communication apparatus according to thepresent embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart conceptually showing processing of thecommunication apparatus in the present embodiment regarding findinganother communication apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart conceptually showing processing of thecommunication apparatus in the present embodiment regarding losinganother communication apparatus.

FIG. 6A shows an example of operation performed on the basis ofreception strength information by a communication apparatus according toa first modification example of the present embodiment.

FIG. 6B shows another example of the operation performed on the basis ofreception strength information by the communication apparatus accordingto the first modification example of the present embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart conceptually showing processing performed by thecommunication apparatus in the first modification example of the presentembodiment when reception strength information is changed.

FIG. 8 shows an example of operation of a communication apparatusaccording to a second modification example of the present embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart conceptually showing transition processing of thecommunication apparatus in the second modification example of thepresent embodiment to an inactive state.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a schematic functional configurationof a communication apparatus according to a second embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 11 shows an example of state transition of each module in acommunication apparatus 100-2 in the present embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart conceptually showing processing of thecommunication apparatus in the present embodiment regarding findinganother communication apparatus.

FIG. 13 is a diagram for describing a hardware configuration of acommunication apparatus according to the present disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT(S)

Hereinafter, (a) preferred embodiment(s) of the present disclosure willbe described in detail with reference to the appended drawings. In thisspecification and the appended drawings, structural elements that havesubstantially the same function and structure are denoted with the samereference numerals, and repeated explanation of these structuralelements is omitted.

Note that description will be provided in the following order.

1. Overview of communication apparatus according to embodiment ofpresent disclosure2. First embodiment of present disclosure (Example of processing basedon existence information)2-1. Configuration of communication apparatus2-2. Processing of communication apparatus2-3. Modification examples3. Second embodiment of present disclosure (Example of processing usingsensor module)3-1. Configuration of communication apparatus3-2. Processing of communication apparatus4. Hardware configuration of communication apparatus according toembodiment of present disclosure

5. Conclusion 1. Overview of Communication Apparatus According toEmbodiment of Present Disclosure

An overview of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure will be described with reference to FIG. 1. FIG.1 is a diagram for describing the overview of the communicationapparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

The communication apparatus according to the embodiment of the presentdisclosure includes a communication module having a wirelesscommunication function and an application processor module (hereinafter,also referred to as “AP module”) having an operation control function ofthe communication apparatus. The communication module receives datatransmitted from another communication apparatus via a radio wave. TheAP module has a power supply control function and transitions a state ofthe AP module to a sleep state, an active state, or the like. Thecommunication module is connected to the AP module and can transmit aninstruction about power supply control to the AP module. Therefore, thecommunication module can indirectly control the state of the AP moduleon the basis of reception from the another communication apparatus.

For example, a communication apparatus 100 according to an embodiment ofthe present disclosure can receive data transmitted from anothercommunication apparatus 200 shown in a left drawing of FIG. 1 via acommunication module. The communication module can transition a state ofan AP module of the communication apparatus 100 from a sleep state to anactive state on the basis of reception from the another communicationapparatus 200. The AP module in the active state can cause thecommunication apparatus 100 to perform sound output as shown in, forexample, a right drawing of FIG. 1.

Herein, assuming that the communication module of the communicationapparatus 100 transitions the state of the AP module to the active stateat each time of reception from the another communication apparatus 200,it is difficult to reduce power consumption. Meanwhile, it is consideredthat the communication module transitions the state of the AP module tothe active state at the time of reception from another specifiedcommunication apparatus 200. In this case, however, the state of the APmodule cannot be transitioned to the active state even in the case wherereception from another unspecified communication apparatus 200 isperformed. Therefore, it is difficult to cause the AP module to performprocessing in accordance with a change in communication environmentincluding another unspecified communication apparatus 200. In view ofthis, the communication module of the communication apparatus 100according to the embodiment of the present disclosure transitions thestate of the AP module in the case where information obtained byreception from another arbitrary communication apparatus 100 is changed.

For example, as shown in the left drawing of FIG. 1, a user can hold thecommunication apparatus 100, and the another communication apparatus 200can be attached to an umbrella possessed by the user. The anothercommunication apparatus 200 transmits, for example, data of informationon the own apparatus. The user stands at a position at which thecommunication apparatus 100 can receive data transmitted from theanother communication apparatus 200. Thus, the communication module ofthe communication apparatus 100 can receive data transmitted from theanother communication apparatus 200. Note that the AP module of thecommunication apparatus 100 can be in the sleep state.

Then, in the case where the user holding the communication apparatus 100leaves from the umbrella to which the another communication apparatus200 is attached and moves out of a transmission range R1 of the anothercommunication apparatus 200, the communication module detectsinterruption of reception from the another communication apparatus 200and determines that a communication environment has been changed. In thecase where it is determined that the communication environment has beenchanged, the communication module transitions the state of the AP modulefrom the sleep state to the active state. Then, the AP module controlsoperation of the communication apparatus 100, such as sound output, sothat the AP module can notify the user that the user forgot to bring theumbrella.

As described above, the communication apparatus 100 according to theembodiment of the present disclosure includes the communication moduleand the AP module for controlling operation of the communicationapparatus 100, and the communication module transitions the state of theAP module in the case where it is determined that information obtainedby reception from another communication apparatus 100 has been changed.Because the state of the AP module is transitioned only in the casewhere the communication environment is changed, it is possible tocontrol operation of the communication apparatus 100 in accordance witha change in communication environment while reducing power consumption.Note that, although FIG. 1 shows a smartphone as an example of thecommunication apparatus 100, the communication apparatus 100 may be atablet terminal, a wristwatch having a communication function, aportable game console, or a portable communication terminal such as apersonal digital assistant (PDA). Further, for the convenience ofdescription, communication apparatuses 100 and the like according tofirst and second embodiments are distinguished by adding numberscorresponding to the embodiments to the end, such as a communicationapparatus 100-1 and a communication apparatus 100-2.

2. First Embodiment of Present Disclosure (Example of Processing Basedon Existence Information)

Hereinabove, the overview of the communication apparatus 100 accordingto the embodiment of the present disclosure has been described. Next, acommunication apparatus 100-1 according to a first embodiment of thepresent disclosure will be described. In the communication apparatus100-1 according to the present embodiment, a communication modulecontrols state transition of an AP module on the basis of existenceinformation.

2-1. Configuration of Communication Apparatus

A configuration of the communication apparatus 100-1 according to thefirst embodiment of the present disclosure will be described withreference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematicfunctional configuration of the communication apparatus 100-1 accordingto the first embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 2, the communication apparatus 100-1 according to thepresent embodiment includes a communication module 110-1 and anapplication processor module 120 (hereinafter, also referred to as “APmodule 120”).

The communication module 110-1 includes a communication unit 112, adetermination unit 114, a storage unit 116, and a control unit 118.

The communication unit 112 receives data transmitted from anothercommunication apparatus 200. Specifically, the communication unit 112scans a radio wave transmitted from the another communication apparatus200 and only receives data transmitted from the another communicationapparatus 200 without performing communication/connection with theanother communication apparatus 200. For example, the communication unit112 can perform passive scanning in an advertising channel in accordancewith specification of Bluetooth Low Energy (hereinafter, also referredto as “BLE”) and receive an advertising packet transmitted from theanother communication apparatus 200.

In the case where the communication unit 112 receives data transmittedfrom the another communication apparatus 200, the communication unit 112may acquire additional information from the another communicationapparatus 200. For example, the communication unit 112 can performactive scanning in accordance with the specification of the BLE and, inthe case where the communication unit 112 receives an advertising packetfrom the another communication apparatus 200, the communication unit 112can transmit a SCAN_REQ packet to the another communication apparatus200 that has transmitted the advertising packet. Then, a SCAN_RESpacket, in which additional information of the another communicationapparatus 200 is stored, is transmitted to the communication apparatus100-1 from the another communication apparatus 200 that has received theSCAN_REQ packet, and the communication unit 112 can receive the SCAN_RESpacket. Note that, in the case where an advertising packet from atransmission source of the SCAN_RES packet is received after receptionof the SCAN_RES packet, the communication unit 112 may be set so as notto transmit a SCAN_REQ packet to the another communication apparatus 200in accordance with the specification of the BLE.

Note that, although the communication unit 112 is desired to constantlyperform scanning, the communication unit 112 may intermittently performscanning. In this case, power consumption can be further reduced.

The determination unit 114 determines whether or not existenceinformation containing identification information of anothercommunication apparatus 200 that communicably exists in the vicinity ofthe communication apparatus 100-1 has been changed. Specifically, in thecase where reception from another communication apparatus 200 havingidentification information that is not contained in the existenceinformation is performed, the determination unit 114 determines that theexistence information has been changed. Further, in the case where,after the previous reception from another communication apparatus 200having identification information contained in the existenceinformation, further reception from the another communication apparatus200 has not been performed and a time period determined in advance haselapsed, it is determined that the existence information has beenchanged. Details of determination processing of the determination unit114 will be described with reference to FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B. FIG. 3Ashows an example of operation performed on the basis of the existenceinformation by the communication apparatus 100-1 according to thepresent embodiment, and FIG. 3B shows another example of the operationperformed on the basis of the existence information by the communicationapparatus 100-1 according to the present embodiment.

(Finding Another Communication Apparatus 200)

The determination unit 114 waits until the communication unit 112performs reception from another communication apparatus 200. Forexample, as shown in a left drawing of FIG. 3A, in the case whereanother communicable communication apparatus 200 does not exist in thevicinity of the communication apparatus 100-1 and an advertising packetfrom another communication apparatus 200 is not received, thedetermination unit 114 does not perform the determination processing.Note that the AP module 120 can be in a sleep state.

In the case where the communication unit 112 performs reception fromanother communication apparatus 200, the determination unit 114determines whether or not identification information of the anothercommunication apparatus 200 is contained in existence information storedin the storage unit 116. For example, as shown in a right drawing ofFIG. 3A, in the case where the communication apparatus 100-1 is movedinto the transmission range R1 of the another communication apparatus200 and an advertising packet is transmitted from the anothercommunication apparatus 200, the advertising packet is received by thecommunication unit 112. Then, the determination unit 114 determineswhether or not the identification information of the anothercommunication apparatus 200, for example, identification informationunique to the communication apparatus, such as a public device addresscontained in the advertising packet, is contained in the existenceinformation. Note that the identification information may be generatedby the communication unit 112.

In the case where it is determined that the identification informationof the another communication apparatus 200 that has performed receptionis not contained in the existence information stored in the storage unit116, the determination unit 114 notifies the control unit 118 ofinformation indicating that the existence information has been changed.For example, in the case where it is determined that the identificationinformation of the another communication apparatus 200 shown in theright drawing of FIG. 3A is not contained in the existence information,the determination unit 114 notifies the control unit 118 of informationindicating that the existence information has been changed. Then, thecontrol unit 118 that has received the notification transitions a stateof the AP module 120 to an active state, and the AP module 120 controlsthe communication apparatus 100-1, so that, for example, sound outputshown in the right drawing of FIG. 3A is performed.

The determination unit 114 adds, to the existence information, theidentification information of the another communication apparatus 200 inwhich it is determined that the identification information is notcontained in the existence information. Note that information such as areception time is associated with the identification information, andthe determination unit 114 updates the information of the identificationinformation such as a reception time.

(Losing Another Communication Apparatus 200)

In the case where it is determined that the identification informationof the another communication apparatus 200 that has performed receptionis contained in the existence information stored in the storage unit116, the determination unit 114 does not perform informationnotification with respect to the control unit 118. For example, as shownin a left drawing of FIG. 3B, in the case where an advertising packetfrom the another communication apparatus 200 having the identificationinformation contained in the existence information is received, thedetermination unit 114 determines that the identification information ofthe another communication apparatus 200 is contained in the existenceinformation and does not provide information to the control unit 118.Note that the determination unit 114 updates the information of theidentification information such as a reception time. Because informationnotification is not performed with respect to the control unit 118, theAP module 120 can be in the sleep state.

For each piece of the identification information contained in theexistence information, the determination unit 114 regularly determineswhether or not the time period determined in advance has elapsed from areception time associated with the identification information. Forexample, the determination unit 114 can regularly determine whether ornot the time period determined in advance has elapsed from a receptiontime of an advertising packet associated with the identificationinformation contained in the existence information. Note that the timeperiod determined in advance can be set in accordance with atransmission interval of an advertising packet. The transmissioninterval of an advertising packet is, for example, 20 msec to 1 sec, andtherefore the time period determined in advance can be set to be longerthan 1 sec.

In the case where it is determined that the time period determined inadvance has elapsed from the reception time associated with theidentification information, the determination unit 114 notifies thecontrol unit 118 of information indicating that the existenceinformation has been changed. For example, as shown in a right drawingof FIG. 3B, in the case where the communication apparatus 100-1 has beenmoved out of the transmission range R1 of the another communicationapparatus 200 and it is determined that the time period determined inadvance has elapsed from the reception time associated with theidentification information of the another communication apparatus 200,the determination unit 114 notifies the control unit 118 of informationindicating that the existence information has been changed. Then, thecontrol unit 118 that has received the notification transitions thestate of the AP module 120 to the active state, and the AP module 120controls the communication apparatus 100-1, so that, for example, soundoutput shown in the right drawing of FIG. 3B is performed.

Further, the determination unit 114 deletes, from the existenceinformation, the identification information in which it is determinedthat the time period determined in advance has elapsed from thereception time. Note that the information such as the reception timeassociated with the identification information can also be deleted.

Herein, the description returns to the configuration of thecommunication apparatus 100-1 with reference to FIG. 2. The storage unit116 stores information obtained by reception from another communicationapparatus 200. Specifically, the storage unit 116 stores the existenceinformation containing identification information of anothercommunication apparatus 200, a reception time associated with theidentification information, and other information obtained by reception.For example, the storage unit 116 can store a public device addressincluded in an advertising packet as the identification information ofthe another communication apparatus 200 and store a time at which theadvertising packet has been received as the reception time. Note thatthe identification information may be a combination of a random deviceaddress with a decryption key.

The control unit 118 controls state transition of the AP module 120.Specifically, the control unit 118 transitions the state of the APmodule 120 to the active state on the basis of a result of determinationin the determination unit 114 regarding whether or not the existenceinformation has been changed. For example, in the case where the controlunit 118 is notified by the determination unit 114 of informationindicating that the existence information has been changed, the controlunit 118 instructs the AP module 120 to transition the state to theactive state. In the case where the control unit 118 is not notified bythe determination unit 114 of information indicating that the existenceinformation has been changed, the control unit 118 does not instruct theAP module 120 to transition the state.

As described above, in the case where it is determined that theexistence information has been changed, the control unit 118 transitionsthe state of the AP module 120 to the active state. Therefore, it ispossible to cause the AP module 120 to perform processing in accordancewith a change in communication environment.

The AP module 120 controls operation of the communication apparatus100-1 as a control module. Specifically, the AP module 120 controlssoftware, such as application software and system software of thecommunication apparatus 100-1, and hardware, such as a display unit, asound output unit, and a vibration output unit. Further, the AP module120 preforms power supply control of the own module. Specifically, theAP module 120 transitions the own state to the sleep state that is aprocessing stop state or the active state that is a processable state.

2-2. Processing of Communication Apparatus

Processing of the communication apparatus 100-1 in the presentembodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5. FIG. 4is a flowchart conceptually showing processing of the communicationapparatus 100-1 in the present embodiment regarding finding anothercommunication apparatus 200, and FIG. 5 is a flowchart conceptuallyshowing processing of the communication apparatus 100-1 in the presentembodiment regarding losing another communication apparatus 200.Processing performed when the communication apparatus 100-1 finds theanother communication apparatus 200 will be described with reference toFIG. 4.

The communication apparatus 100-1 waits until reception from anothercommunication apparatus 200 is performed (Step S302). Specifically, thecommunication unit 112 performs scanning for reception from anothercommunication apparatus 200, and the determination unit 114 waits untilthe communication unit 112 performs reception from another communicationapparatus 200.

In the case where reception from another communication apparatus 200 isperformed, the communication apparatus 100-1 determines whether or notidentification information of the another communication apparatus 200that has performed reception is contained in the existence information(Step S304). Specifically, in the case where the communication unit 112performs reception from another communication apparatus 200, thedetermination unit 114 determines whether or not identificationinformation of the another communication apparatus 200 is contained inthe existence information.

In the case where it is determined that the identification informationof the another communication apparatus 200 that has performed receptionis not contained in the existence information, the communicationapparatus 100-1 adds the identification information of the anothercommunication apparatus 200 that has performed reception to theexistence information (Step S306). Specifically, in the case where it isdetermined that the identification information of the anothercommunication apparatus 200 related to the reception is not contained inthe existence information, the determination unit 114 adds theidentification information of the another communication apparatus to theexistence information, associates information such as a reception timewith the identifier, and stores the information such as the receptiontime in the storage unit 116.

Note that, in the case where it is determined that the identificationinformation of the another communication apparatus 200 that hasperformed reception is contained in the existence information,information such as a reception time associated with the identificationinformation is updated, and then the processing is terminated.

The communication apparatus 100-1 transitions the state of the AP module120 to the active state (Step S308). Specifically, in the case where thecontrol unit 118 is notified by the determination unit 114 ofinformation indicating that the existence information has been changed,the control unit 118 instructs the AP module 120 to transition the statefrom the sleep state to the active state. Then, the AP module 120 thathas received the instruction transitions the own state from the sleepstate to the active state.

Hereinabove, the processing performed when the communication apparatus100-1 finds the another communication apparatus 200 has been described.Next, processing performed when the communication apparatus 100-1 losesthe another communication apparatus 200 will be described with referenceto FIG. 5. Note that the processing shown in FIG. 5 is regularlyperformed.

The communication apparatus 100-1 determines whether or notidentification information of another communication apparatus 200 inwhich the time period determined in advance has elapsed from theprevious reception is contained in the existence information (StepS402). Specifically, for each piece of the identification informationcontained in the existence information, the determination unit 114determines whether or not the time period determined in advance haselapsed from a reception time associated with the each piece of theidentification information.

In the case where it is determined that the identification informationof the another communication apparatus 200 in which the time perioddetermined in advance has elapsed from the previous reception iscontained in the existence information, the communication apparatus100-1 deletes, from the existence information, the identificationinformation in which the predetermined time period has elapsed from theprevious reception (Step S404). Specifically, the determination unit 114deletes, from the existence information, the identification informationin which the time period determined in advance has elapsed from thereception time. Note that information such as the reception timeassociated with the identification information can also be deleted.

Note that, in the case where it is determined that the identificationinformation of the another communication apparatus 200 in which thepredetermined time period has elapsed from the previous reception is notcontained in the existence information, the processing is terminated.

The communication apparatus 100-1 transitions the state of the AP module120 to the active state (Step S406). Specifically, this processing issubstantially the same as the processing in Step S308 of FIG. 4, andtherefore description thereof is omitted.

As described above, according to the first embodiment of the presentdisclosure, the communication apparatus 100-1 includes the AP module 120for controlling operation of the communication apparatus 100-1. Thecommunication apparatus also includes the communication module 110-1 forcontrolling state transition of the AP module 120 in the case wherewhether or not information obtained by reception from the anothercommunication apparatus 200 has been changed is determined and it isdetermined that the information obtained by the reception has beenchanged. Because the state of the AP module is transitioned in the casewhere a communication environment is changed, it is possible to controloperation of the communication apparatus 100 in accordance with a changein communication environment while reducing power consumption.

In the case where there is reception from another communicationapparatus 200 having identification information that is not contained inthe existence information containing identification information ofanother communication apparatus 200 that communicably exists in thevicinity of the communication apparatus 100-1, the communicationapparatus 100-1 determines that the existence information has beenchanged and transitions the state of the AP module 120 to the activestate. Thus, the state of the AP module 120 is transitioned to theactive state in a situation in which the AP module 120 may be requiredto perform processing, and therefore it is possible to increase anoperation opportunity of the AP module while reducing power consumption.

In the case where, after the previous reception from anothercommunication apparatus 200 having identification information containedin the existence information, further reception from the anothercommunication apparatus 200 has not been performed and the time perioddetermined in advance has elapsed, the communication apparatus 100-1determines that the existence information has been changed andtransitions the state of the AP module 120 to the active state. Thus,the state of the AP module 120 is transitioned to the active state alsoin the case where another communicable communication apparatus 200 islost, and therefore it is possible to further increase an operationopportunity of the AP module 120 while reducing power consumption.

2-3. Modification Examples

Hereinabove, the first embodiment of the present disclosure has beendescribed. Note that the present embodiment is not limited to theabove-mentioned example. Hereinafter, first to fourth modificationexamples of the present embodiment will be described.

First Modification Example

As a first modification example of the present embodiment, thecommunication module 110-1 has reception strength information of theanother communication apparatus 200, and, in the case where thereception strength is changed, the communication module 110-1 maydetermine that the reception strength information of the anothercommunication apparatus 200 has been changed and transition the state ofthe AP module 120 to the active state. Specifically, the communicationunit 112 detects the reception strength of a radio wave related toreception from the another communication apparatus 200, and thedetermination unit 114 determines whether or not the reception strengthrelated to the another communication apparatus 200 has been changed overa threshold with reference to the reception strength information. In thecase where it is determined that the reception strength has been changedover the threshold, the determination unit 114 notifies the control unit118 of information indicating that the reception strength informationhas been changed, and the control unit 118 that has received thenotification instructs the AP module 120 to transition the state to theactive state. After the determination processing, the determination unit114 updates the reception strength of the reception strength informationto the detected reception strength. Details of the processing in thismodification example will be described with reference to FIG. 6A andFIG. 6B. FIG. 6A shows an example of operation performed on the basis ofthe reception strength information by the communication apparatus 100-1according to the first modification example of the present embodiment,and FIG. 6B shows another example of the operation performed on thebasis of the reception strength information by the communicationapparatus 100-1 according to the first modification example of thepresent embodiment. Note that, regarding processing substantially thesame as the processing in the first embodiment, description thereof isomitted.

—Reception Strength is Changed to Value Equal to or Larger thanThreshold

The determination unit 114 waits until the communication unit 112performs reception from another communication apparatus 200, and, in thecase where the communication unit 112 performs reception from anothercommunication apparatus 200, the determination unit 114 determineswhether or not identification information of the another communicationapparatus 200 is contained in the existence information. For example, inthe case where the communication apparatus 100-1 is moved into thetransmission range R1 of the another communication apparatus 200 and anadvertising packet is transmitted from the another communicationapparatus 200 as shown in a left drawing of FIG. 6A, the advertisingpacket is received by the communication unit 112. Then, thedetermination unit 114 determines whether or not the identificationinformation of the another communication apparatus 200 is contained inthe existence information. Note that the state of the AP module can bethe sleep state.

In the case where it is determined that the identification informationof the another communication apparatus 200 is not contained in theexistence information, the determination unit 114 adds theidentification information to the existence information and stores thedetected reception strength in the reception strength informationassociated with the identification information. Further, thedetermination unit 114 determines whether or not the detected receptionstrength is equal to or larger than the threshold. Note that thethreshold of the reception strength may be a value determined in advanceor may be a value changed by setting.

In the case where it is determined that the detected reception strengthis not equal to or larger than the threshold, the determination unit 114does not perform information notification with respect to the controlunit 118. For example, in the case where a radio wave having thereception strength equal to or larger than the threshold is receivedwithin a transmission range R2 of the another communication apparatus200 shown in the left drawing of FIG. 6A, the communication apparatus100-1 positions out of the communication range R2, and therefore thedetermination unit 114 determines that the detected reception strengthis less than the threshold and does not perform information notificationwith respect to the control unit 118. Thus, the AP module can bemaintained in the sleep state.

—Reception Strength is Changed from Value Less than Threshold to ValueEqual to or Larger than Threshold

In the case where it is determined that the identification informationis contained in the existence information, the determination unit 114further compares the detected reception strength, the reception strengthin the reception strength information associated with the identificationinformation, and the threshold with one another and determines whetheror not the reception strength has been changed over the threshold. Forexample, after the communication unit 112 receives an advertising packetfrom the another communication apparatus 200 within the transmissionrange R1 and out of the transmission range R2 shown in the left drawingof FIG. 6A, the communication apparatus 100-1 may be moved and thecommunication unit 112 may receive an advertising packet from theanother communication apparatus 200 within the transmission range R2shown in a right drawing of FIG. 6A. In this case, in the previousreception, the reception strength related to reception from the anothercommunication apparatus 200 has been stored in the reception strengthinformation, and therefore the determination unit 114 compares thedetected reception strength, the reception strength in the receptionstrength information, and the threshold with one another and determineswhether or not the reception strength has been changed over thethreshold.

In the case where it is determined that the reception strength has beenchanged from a value less than the threshold to a value equal to orlarger than the threshold, the determination unit 114 notifies thecontrol unit 118 of information indicating that the reception strengthinformation has been changed. Further, the determination unit 114updates the reception strength in the reception strength information tothe detected reception strength. For example, the reception strength inthe reception strength information may be the reception strength lessthan the threshold regarding reception out of the transmission range R2shown in the right drawing of FIG. 6A, and the communication apparatus100-1 may position within the transmission range R2. In this case, thereception strength of a radio wave to be received is equal to or largerthan the threshold because the communication apparatus 100-1 positionswithin the transmission range R2. Thus, the determination unit 114determines that the reception strength has been changed from a valueless than the threshold to a value equal to or larger than thethreshold, notifies the control unit 118 of information indicating thatthe reception strength information has been changed, and updates thereception strength in the reception strength information to the detectedreception strength.

Then, the control unit 118 that has received the notification instructsthe AP module 120 to transition the state to the active state. Forexample, the control unit 118 can instruct the AP module 120 totransition the state from the sleep state to the active state, and theAP module 120 that has received the instruction can transition the ownstate to the active state to cause the communication apparatus 100-1 toperform sound output for a user as shown in, for example, the rightdrawing of FIG. 6A.

—Reception Strength is Changed from Value Equal to or Larger thanThreshold to Value Less than Threshold

In the case where it is determined that the reception strength has notbeen changed over the threshold, the determination unit 114 does notperform information notification with respect to the control unit 118and updates the reception strength in the reception strength informationto the detected reception strength. For example, in the case where thecommunication unit 112 receives an advertising packet a plurality oftimes within the transmission range R2 of the another communicationapparatus 200 shown in a left drawing of FIG. 6B, the determination unit114 determines that the reception strength has not been changed over thethreshold, and therefore the determination unit 114 updates thereception strength in the reception strength information to the detectedreception strength but does not perform information notification withrespect to the control unit 118. Thus, the AP module 120 can bemaintained in the sleep state.

In the case where it is determined that the reception strength has beenchanged from a value equal to or larger than the threshold to a valueless than the threshold, the determination unit 114 notifies the controlunit 118 of information indicating that the reception strengthinformation has been changed. Further, the determination unit 114updates the reception strength in the reception strength information tothe detected reception strength. For example, as shown in a rightdrawing of FIG. 6B, after the communication unit 112 receives anadvertising packet within the transmission range R2 of the anothercommunication apparatus 200, the communication apparatus 100-1 may bemoved and the communication unit 112 may receive an advertising packetwithin the transmission range R1 and out of the transmission range R2.In this case, the determination unit 114 determines that the receptionstrength has been changed from a value equal to or larger than thethreshold to a value less than the threshold, notifies the control unit118 of information indicating that the reception strength informationhas been changed, and updates the reception strength in the receptionstrength information to the detected reception strength.

The control unit 118 that has received the notification instructs the APmodule 120 to transition the state to the active state.

Processing of the communication apparatus 100-1 in the firstmodification example of the present embodiment will be described withreference to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a flowchart conceptually showingprocessing performed by the communication apparatus 100-1 in the firstmodification example of the present embodiment when the receptionstrength information is changed.

The communication apparatus 100-1 waits until reception from anothercommunication apparatus 200 is performed (Step S502), and, in the casewhere reception from another communication apparatus 200 is performed,the communication apparatus 100-1 determines whether or notidentification information of the another communication apparatus 200that has performed reception is contained in the existence information(Step S504). Specifically, this step is substantially the same as StepS302 in the first embodiment, and therefore description thereof isomitted.

In the case where it is determined that the identification informationof the another communication apparatus 200 that has performed receptionis not contained in the existence information, the communicationapparatus 100-1 adds the identification information of the anothercommunication apparatus 200 that has performed reception to theexistence information and stores the reception strength (Step S506).Specifically, in the case where it is determined that the identificationinformation of the another communication apparatus 200 that hasperformed reception is not contained in the existence information, thedetermination unit 114 adds the identification information to theexistence information and stores the reception strength detected by thecommunication unit 112 in the reception strength information associatedwith the identification information.

The communication apparatus 100-1 determines whether or not thereception strength is equal to or larger than the threshold (Step S508).Specifically, the determination unit 114 determines whether or not thereception strength detected by the communication unit 112 is equal to orlarger than the threshold.

In the case where it is determined that the reception strength is equalto or larger than the threshold, the communication apparatus 100-1transitions the state of the AP module 120 to the active state (StepS510). Specifically, in the case where it is determined that thereception strength is equal to or larger than the threshold, thedetermination unit 114 notifies the control unit 118 of informationindicating that the reception strength information has been changed, andthe control unit 118 instructs the AP module 120 to transition the stateto the active state. The AP module 120 that has received the instructiontransitions the own state from the sleep state to the active state.

In the case where it is determined that the identification informationis contained in the existence information, the communication apparatus100-1 determines whether or not the reception strength has been changedfrom a value less than the threshold to a value equal to or larger thanthe threshold (Step S512). Specifically, the determination unit 114compares the reception strength detected by the communication unit 112,the reception strength in the reception strength information associatedwith the identification information, and the threshold with one anotherand determines whether or not the reception strength has been changedfrom a value less than the threshold to a value equal to or larger thanthe threshold.

In the case where it is determined that the reception strength has beenchanged from a value less than the threshold to a value equal to orlarger than the threshold, the communication apparatus 100-1 updates thereception strength information of the another communication apparatus200 that has performed reception (Step S514) and performs the processingin Step S510. Specifically, in the case where it is determined that thereception strength has been changed from a value less than the thresholdto a value equal to or larger than the threshold, the determination unit114 updates the reception strength in the reception strength informationto the detected reception strength.

In the case where it is determined that the reception strength has notbeen changed from a value less than the threshold to a value equal to orlarger than the threshold, the communication apparatus 100-1 determineswhether or not the reception strength has been changed from a valueequal to or larger than the threshold to a value less than the threshold(Step S516). Specifically, the determination unit 114 compares thereception strength detected by the communication unit 112, the receptionstrength in the reception strength information associated with theidentification information, and the threshold with one another anddetermines whether or not the reception strength has been changed from avalue equal to or larger than the threshold to a value less than thethreshold.

In the case where it is determined that the reception strength has beenchanged from a value equal to or larger than the threshold to a valueless than the threshold, the communication apparatus 100-1 performs theprocessing in Step S514 and then performs the processing in Step S510.

In the case where it is determined that the reception strength has notbeen changed from a value equal to or larger than the threshold to avalue less than the threshold, the communication apparatus 100-1 updatesthe reception strength information of the another communicationapparatus 200 that has performed reception (Step S518). Specifically,this processing is substantially the same as the processing in StepS514, and therefore description thereof is omitted.

As described above, according to the first modification example of thepresent embodiment, the communication module 110-1 has the receptionstrength information of the another communication apparatus 200, and, inthe case where the reception strength is changed, the communicationmodule 110-1 determines that the reception strength information of theanother communication apparatus 200 has been changed and transitions thestate of the AP module 120 to the active state. Therefore, as comparedwith the case where the processing is performed on the basis ofexistence information, it is possible to control state transition of theAP module 120 on the basis of a more detailed positional relationshipbetween the communication apparatus 100-1 and the another communicationapparatus 200. Further, as compared with the case where the processingis performed on the basis of existence information, it is possible toreduce power consumption because the number of times of transition ofthe state of the AP module 120 to the active state is reduced.

Note that, although, in the above example, there has been described anexample where the determination unit 114 determines whether or not acommunication environment has been changed on the basis of receptionstrength information, the determination unit 114 may determine whetheror not the communication environment has been changed on the basis ofcombination of existence information and reception strength information.Specifically, in the case where at least one of the existenceinformation and the reception strength information is changed, thecontrol unit 118 is notified of information indicating that thecommunication environment has been changed, and the control unit 118instructs the AP module 120 to transition the state to the active state.In this case, it is possible to further increase an operationopportunity of the AP module 120 caused by a change in communicationenvironment while reducing power consumption.

Although, in the above example, there has been described an examplewhere the determination unit 114 determines whether or not the receptionstrength has been changed over the threshold, the determination unit 114may determine whether or not a change amount of the reception strengthexceeds a threshold of the change amount. For example, in the case wherethe determination unit 114 calculates a change amount of the receptionstrength on the basis of the detected reception strength and thereception strength in the reception strength information and thecalculated change amount is equal to or larger than the threshold of thechange amount, the determination unit 114 determines that the receptionstrength has been changed. Further, in the case where the calculatedchange amount is less than the threshold of the change amount, thedetermination unit 114 determines that the reception strength has notbeen changed. In this case, when the communication apparatus 100-1 isnot moved so much, the state of the AP module 120 is not transitioned tothe active state, and therefore it is possible to reduce powerconsumption.

Second Modification Example

As a second modification example of the present embodiment, thecommunication module 110-1 may transition the state of the AP module 120to an inactive state in the case where it is determined that theexistence information has been changed. For example, in the case where,when identification information of another communication apparatus 200is deleted from the existence information, no identification informationof another communication apparatus 200 is contained in the existenceinformation, the communication module 110-1 transitions the state of theAP module 120 to the inactive state. Specifically, first, thedetermination unit 114 deletes, from the existence information,identification information in which it is determined that the timeperiod determined in advance has been elapsed from the previousreception time. After the identification information is deleted, thedetermination unit 114 determines whether or not any identificationinformation is contained in the existence information. In the case whereit is determined that no identification information is contained in theexistence information, the determination unit 114 notifies the controlunit 118 of information indicating that the existence information isempty. The control unit 118 that has received the notification instructsthe AP module 120 to transition the state to the inactive state. Detailsof processing in this modification example will be described withreference to FIG. 8. FIG. 8 shows an example of operation of thecommunication apparatus 100-1 according to the second modificationexample of the present embodiment.

As described above, in the case where the communication unit 112performs reception from another communication apparatus 200, thedetermination unit 114 determines whether or not identificationinformation of the another communication apparatus 200 is contained inthe existence information. In the case where it is determined that theidentification information of the another communication apparatus 200 isnot contained in the existence information, the determination unit 114notifies the control unit 118 of information indicating that theexistence information has been changed. The control unit 118 that hasreceived the notification instructs the AP module 120 to transition thestate to the active state. For example, as shown in a left drawing ofFIG. 8, the communication apparatus 100-1 positions within thetransmission range R1 of the another communication apparatus 200, andtherefore an advertising packet from the another communication apparatus200 is received by the communication unit 112. In the case where it isdetermined that the identification information of the anothercommunication apparatus 200 is not contained in the existenceinformation, the determination unit 114 notifies the control unit 118 ofinformation indicating that the existence information has been changed.Further, the determination unit 114 adds the identification informationof the another communication apparatus 200 to the existence information.Then, the control unit 118 instructs the AP module 120 to transition thestate to the active state, and the AP module 120 transitions the ownstate to the active state. For example, as shown in the left drawing ofFIG. 8, the AP module 120 in the active state can cause thecommunication apparatus 100-1 to perform sound output.

For each piece of the identification information contained in theexistence information, the determination unit 114 regularly determineswhether or not the time period determined in advance has elapsed from areception time associated with the identification information anddeletes, from the existence information, the identification informationin which it is determined that the time period determined in advance haselapsed from the reception time. For example, as shown in a rightdrawing of FIG. 8, in the case where the communication apparatus 100-1has been moved out of the transmission range R1 of the anothercommunication apparatus 200, reception from the another communicationapparatus 200 has not been performed, and the time period determined inadvance has elapsed, the determination unit 114 determines that the timeperiod determined in advance has elapsed from the reception timeassociated with the identification information of the anothercommunication apparatus 200. Then, the determination unit 114 deletesthe identification information of the another communication apparatus200 from the existence information.

Then, the determination unit 114 determines whether or not anyidentification information is contained in the existence information.For example, as shown in the right drawing of FIG. 8, in the case whereanother communicable communication apparatus 200 does not exist in thevicinity of the communication apparatus 100-1, no identificationinformation is contained in the existence information because theidentification information has been deleted as described above.Therefore, the determination unit 114 determines that no identificationinformation is contained in the existence information.

Then, the determination unit 114 notifies the control unit 118 ofinformation indicating that the existence information is empty, and thecontrol unit 118 instructs the AP module 120 to transition the state tothe inactive state. For example, the control unit 118, which has beennotified by the determination unit 114 of information indicating thatthe existence information is empty, can instruct the AP module 120 totransition the state to the sleep state. Then, the AP module 120 thathas received the instruction can transition the own state to the sleepstate. Note that the inactive state may be a deep sleep state or anot-started state in which power consumption is lower than the powerconsumption in the sleep state.

Processing of the communication apparatus 100-1 in the secondmodification example of the present embodiment will be described withreference to FIG. 9. FIG. 9 is a flowchart conceptually showingtransition processing of the communication apparatus 100-1 in the secondmodification example of the present embodiment to the inactive state.

The communication apparatus 100-1 determines whether or notidentification information of another communication apparatus 200 inwhich the time period determined in advance has elapsed from theprevious reception is contained in the existence information (StepS602), and, in the case where it is determined that the identificationinformation of the another communication apparatus 200 in which the timeperiod determined in advance has elapsed from the previous reception iscontained in the existence information, the communication apparatus100-1 deletes, from the existence information, the identificationinformation in which the predetermined time period has elapsed from theprevious reception (Step S604). Specifically, this processing issubstantially the same as the processing in Step S402 and Step S404 inFIG. 5 according to the first embodiment, and therefore descriptionthereof is omitted.

Then, the communication apparatus 100-1 determines whether or not anyidentification information is contained in the existence information(Step S606). Specifically, the determination unit 114 determines whetheror not any identification information is contained in the existenceinformation, i.e., the existence information is empty.

In the case where it is determined that no identification information iscontained in the existence information, the communication apparatus100-1 transitions the state of the AP module 120 to the inactive state(Step S608). Specifically, the determination unit 114 notifies thecontrol unit 118 of information indicating that the existenceinformation is empty, and the control unit 118 instructs the AP module120 to transition the state to the inactive state.

As described above, according to the second modification example of thepresent embodiment, in the case where, when the identificationinformation of the another communication apparatus 200 is deleted fromthe existence information, no identification information of anothercommunication apparatus 200 is contained in the existence information,the communication module 110-1 transitions the state of the AP module120 to the inactive state. Therefore, the state of the AP module 120 istransitioned to the inactive state in the case where there is a lowpossibility that the AP module 120 is required to perform processing,and thus it is possible to optimize an operation timing of the AP module120 and further reduce power consumption.

Third Modification Example

As a third modification example of the present embodiment, after thestate of the AP module 120 is transitioned to the active state, the APmodule 120 may show, to a user, information on a change in informationobtained by reception from another communication apparatus 200.Specifically, based on information specifying another communicationapparatus 200, the information being received from the anothercommunication apparatus 200, the AP module 120 shows, to a user,information of the another communication apparatus 200 regarding achange in existence information or the like. For example, in the casewhere the determination unit 114 determines that the existenceinformation has been changed, the control unit 118 instructs the APmodule 120 to transition the state to the active state, and the APmodule 120 transitions the own state to the active state. Then, the APmodule 120 in the active state acquires identification information ofthe another communication apparatus 200 from the communication module110-1. Further, the AP module 120 acquires information related to theacquired identification information from a storage unit or the likeinside the own module and displays the identification information andthe information related to the identification information on, forexample, a display unit separately provided to the communicationapparatus 100-1. For example, the identification information can be apublic device address or the like containable in an advertising packetreceived by the communication unit 112, and the information related tothe identification information can be information on a user of theanother communication apparatus 200 having the identificationinformation.

In the case where the AP module 120 is instructed by the control unit118 to transition the state to the active state, the AP module 120controls a sound output unit, a vibration output unit, a lighting unit,or the like separately provided to the communication apparatus 100-1 andshows, to the user, that the state of the AP module 120 has beentransitioned to the active state, i.e., the existence information or thelike has been changed. For example, the AP module 120 can cause thecommunication apparatus 100-1 to output a warning sound, vibrate thecommunication apparatus 100-1, or turn on a light emitting diode (LED)included in the communication apparatus 100-1.

As described above, according to the third modification example of thepresent embodiment, after the AP module 120 transitions to the activestate, the AP module 120 shows information on a change in existenceinformation or the like to a user. Therefore, it is possible to make theuser aware of a change in communication environment to encourage theuser to perform a behavior such as operation of the communicationapparatus 100-1.

Further, based on information specifying another communication apparatus200, the information being received from the another communicationapparatus 200, the AP module 120 shows, to the user, information of theanother communication apparatus 200 regarding a change in existenceinformation or the like. Thus, the another communication apparatus 200related to a change in communication environment is shown to the user,and therefore the user can determine necessity of operation of thecommunication apparatus 100-1. This makes it possible to improveusability for the user.

Fourth Modification Example

As a fourth modification example of the present embodiment, the APmodule 120 may provide information received from another communicationapparatus 200 to an external device outside the communication apparatus100-1. Specifically, in the case where the state of the AP module 120 istransitioned to the active state, the AP module 120 acquires informationon another communication apparatus 200 from the communication module110-1 and stores the acquired information on the another communicationapparatus 200 in the storage unit inside the AP module 120. Further, inthe case where, when the state of the AP module 120 is transitioned tothe active state, the number of times of transition to the active stateis a predetermined number of times, the AP module 120 transmits theinformation on the another communication apparatus 200 stored in thestorage unit inside the AP module 120 to the external device via acommunication control unit separately provided to the communicationapparatus 100-1. For example, communication of the communication controlunit can be mobile phone communication such as wired communication,third-generation communication, or long term evolution (LTE), and theexternal device can be, for example, a server that performs a cloudservice. Note that the AP module 120 in the active state may cause thecommunication module 110-1 to perform communication/connection with theanother communication apparatus 200 and transmit information acquiredvia the communication/connection to the external device.

As described above, according to the fourth modification example of thepresent embodiment, the AP module 120 provides information received fromthe another communication apparatus 200 to the external device outsidethe communication apparatus 100-1. Thus, information on anotherarbitrary communication apparatus 200 is provided to the external devicewhile power consumption is being reduced, and therefore it is possibleto extend duration of provision of information to the external device.

3. Second Embodiment of Present Disclosure (Example of Processing UsingCamera Module)

Hereinabove, the communication apparatus 100-1 according to the firstembodiment of the present disclosure has been described. Next, acommunication apparatus 100-2 according to a second embodiment of thepresent disclosure will be described. In the communication apparatus100-2 according to the present embodiment, a communication modulecontrols state transition of a camera module on the basis of existenceinformation, and state transition of an AP module is controlled on thebasis of a result of processing of the camera module.

3-1. Configuration of Communication Apparatus

A configuration of the communication apparatus 100-2 according to thesecond embodiment of the present disclosure will be described withreference to FIG. 10. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a schematicfunctional configuration of the communication apparatus 100-2 accordingto the second embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 10, the communication apparatus 100-2 includes acommunication module 110-2, an AP module 120, and a camera module 130.

A control unit 118 of the communication module 110-2 controls statetransition of the camera module 130. Specifically, the control unit 118transitions a state of the camera module 130 to an active state on thebasis of a result of determination in the determination unit 114regarding whether or not existence information has been changed. Notethat operation of the control unit 118 is substantially the same as theoperation of the control unit 118 in the first embodiment, and thereforedetailed description thereof is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 10, the camera module 130 includes a control unit 132,an image pickup unit 134, a recognition unit 136, and a storage unit138.

The control unit 132 has a power supply control function of the cameramodule 130 and controls state transition of the camera module 130.Specifically, in the case where the control unit 118 of thecommunication module 110-2 instructs the control unit 132 to performstate transition, the control unit 132 transitions the state of thecamera module 130 to the instructed state. The state transition of thecamera module 130 will be described with reference to FIG. 11. FIG. 11shows an example of state transition of each module in the communicationapparatus 100-2 in the present embodiment.

In the case where the communication apparatus 100-2 is started, a stateof the communication module 110-2 is transitioned to an active state,but states of the camera module 130 and the AP module 120 aretransitioned to an inactive state. For example, as shown in a topdrawing of FIG. 11, immediately after the communication apparatus 100-2is started, the communication module 110-2 can be in the active state,and the camera module 130 and the AP module 120 can be in the inactivestate such as a sleep state.

In the case where, in the communication module 110-2, it is determinedthat a communication environment has been changed, the communicationmodule 110-2 transitions the state of the camera module 130 to theactive state. For example, in the case where it is determined thatexistence information of another communication apparatus 200 has beenchanged, as shown in a middle drawing of FIG. 11, the communicationmodule 110-2 instructs the camera module 130 to transition the state tothe active state. Then, the camera module 130 transitions the own stateto the active state. Note that the AP module 120 is not instructed totransition the state, and therefore the AP module 120 is maintained inthe inactive state.

In the case where human recognition processing succeeds in the cameramodule 130, the camera module 130 transitions the state of the AP module120 to the active state. For example, in the case where humanrecognition regarding a captured image succeeds, as shown in a bottomdrawing of FIG. 11, the camera module 130 instructs the AP module 120 totransition the state to the active state. Then, the AP module 120transitions the own state to the active state.

Herein, the description returns to the configuration of thecommunication apparatus 100-1 with reference to FIG. 10. The controlunit 132 controls operation of the image pickup unit 134 and therecognition unit 136. Specifically, in the case where the state of thecamera module 130 is transitioned to the active state in response to aninstruction from the control unit 118, the control unit 132 transmitsoperation instructions to the image pickup unit 134 and the recognitionunit 136.

The control unit 132 instructs the AP module 120 to transition the stateon the basis of a result of processing of the recognition unit 136.Specifically, in the case where the recognition unit 136 succeeds inhuman recognition regarding an image captured by the image pickup unit134, the control unit 132 instructs the AP module 120 to transition thestate to the active state.

The image pickup unit 134 captures an image to generate an image of thevicinity of the communication apparatus 100-2. Specifically, in the casewhere an operation instruction is transmitted from the control unit 132,the image pickup unit 134 captures an image of the vicinity of thecommunication apparatus 100-2. For example, the image pickup unit 134can include an image pickup optical system such as a taking lens forconcentrating light and a zoom lens and a signal conversion element suchas a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal oxidesemiconductor (CMOS).

The recognition unit 136 performs human recognition in an image.Specifically, the recognition unit 136 acquires an image captured by theimage pickup unit 134 and determines whether or not a person stored inthe storage unit 138 is included in the acquired image. In the casewhere it is determined that a person stored in the storage unit 138 isincluded in the acquired image, the recognition unit 136 notifies thecontrol unit 132 of information indicating that human recognition hassucceeded. For example, the recognition unit 136 can determine a personby using a face recognition technology, a skeleton detection technology,or the like.

The storage unit 138 stores information for use in human recognition.For example, the storage unit 138 can store face information of aspecific person or general face information such as sex or age.

3-2. Processing of Communication Apparatus

Processing of the communication apparatus 100-2 in the presentembodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 12. FIG. 12 is aflowchart conceptually showing processing of the communication apparatus100-2 in the present embodiment regarding finding another communicationapparatus 200.

The communication apparatus 100-2 waits until reception from anothercommunication apparatus 200 is performed (Step S702). Specifically, thisstep is substantially the same as Step S302 in the first embodiment, andtherefore description thereof is omitted.

In the case where reception from another communication apparatus 200 isperformed, the communication apparatus 100-2 transitions the state ofthe camera module 130 to the active state (Step S706). Specifically, inthe case where the determination unit 114 notifies the control unit 118of information indicating that the existence information has beenchanged, the control unit 118 instructs the control unit 132 of thecamera module 130 to transition the state from the sleep state to theactive state. Then, the control unit 132 transitions the state of thecamera module 130 to the active state.

Then, the communication apparatus 100-2 performs human recognition (StepS704). Specifically, the control unit 132 transmits operationinstructions to the image pickup unit 134 and the recognition unit 136,and the image pickup unit 134 captures an image of the vicinity of thecommunication apparatus 100-2, and then the recognition unit 136performs human recognition on the basis of the image captured by theimage pickup unit 134.

In the case where human recognition succeeds, the communicationapparatus 100-2 transitions the state of the AP module 120 to the activestate (Step S708). Specifically, in the case where the control unit 132is notified by the recognition unit 136 of information indicating thathuman recognition has succeeded, the control unit 132 instructs the APmodule 120 to transition the state from the sleep state to the activestate. Then, the AP module 120 that has received the instructiontransitions the own state from the sleep state to the active state.

As described above, according to the second embodiment of the presentdisclosure, in the case where the communication module 110-2 determinesthat the existence information has been changed, the communicationapparatus 100-2 transitions the state of the camera module 130 to theactive state. Further, the state of the AP module 120 is transitioned tothe active state on the basis of a result of processing of the cameramodule 130. Thus, a condition for transitioning the state of the APmodule 120 to the active state is added, and therefore it is possible toimprove accuracy of an operation timing of the AP module 120 and furtherreduce power consumption.

Note that, although, in the above example, there has been described anexample where the state of the AP module 120 is transitioned to theactive state on the basis of a result of processing of the camera module130, the state of the AP module may be transitioned on the basis of aresult of processing of another sensor module for detecting an externalenvironment of the communication apparatus 100-2. For example, thesensor module may be a sound collection module, and the communicationmodule 110-2 transitions a state of the sound collection module to anactive state in the case where it is determined that the existenceinformation has been changed. The sound collection module can acquirevoice in the vicinity of the communication apparatus 100-2 in the casewhere the own state is transitioned to the active state. In the casewhere characteristics of a specific voice stored in a storage unitinside the sound collection module and an acquired voice, such asfrequencies, are matched, the sound collection module transitions thestate of the AP module 120 to the active state. In this case,information of the vicinity of the communication apparatus 100-2 can beacquired even in an environment in which acquisition of visualinformation is difficult, such as a dark place.

4. Hardware Configuration of Communication Apparatus According toEmbodiment of Present Disclosure

Embodiments of the present disclosure are described above. Theprocessing of the communication apparatus 100 described above isimplemented by cooperation between software and hardware of thecommunication apparatus 100 described below.

FIG. 13 is a diagram for describing the hardware configuration of thecommunication apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. As illustrated in FIG. 13, the communication apparatus 100contains a central processing unit (CPU) 142, a read only memory (ROM)144, a random access memory (RAM) 146, a bridge 148, a bus 150, aninterface 152, an input device 154, an output device 156, a storagedevice 158, a drive 160, a connection port 162, and a communicationcontrol apparatus 164.

The CPU 142 functions as an arithmetic processing unit and a controldevice and cooperates with various programs to realize operation of thedetermination unit 114, the control unit 118, the AP module 120, thecontrol unit 132, and the recognition unit 136 in the communicationapparatus 100. The CPU 142 may be a microprocessor. The ROM 144 storesprograms, operation parameters, or the like to be used by the CPU 142.The RAM 146 temporarily stores programs for use in the execution of theCPU 142, parameters which change as appropriate in the execution, andthe like. By the ROM 144 and the RAM 146, a part of the storage unit 116and the storage unit 138 in the communication apparatus 100 is realized.The CPU 142, the ROM 144, and the RAM 146 are connected to each otherthrough an internal bus constituted by a CPU bus and the like.

The input device 154 is an example of the imaging unit 134 of thecommunication apparatus 100, and is constituted by an input unit whichallows the user to input information, such as a mouse, a keyboard, atouch panel, a button, a microphone, a switch, and a lever, an inputcontrol circuit which generates an input signal based on a capturedimage and an input by the user, and then outputs the signal to the CPU142, and the like. The user of the communication apparatus 100 canoperate the input device 154 to input various data to the communicationapparatus 100 or instruct the communication apparatus 100 to perform aprocessing operation.

The output device 156 performs an output operation to a device, such asa liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED),and a lamp. Furthermore, the output device 156 may include a loudspeakerand a headphone for outputting sound.

The storage device 158 is a device for data storage. The storage device158 may include a storage medium, a recording device for recording datain the storage medium, a reading device for reading the data from thestorage medium, and a deleting device for deleting data recorded in thestorage medium. The storage device 158 stores a program executed by theCPU 142 and various types of data.

The drive 160 is a reader-writer for a storage medium and is built in orexternally attached to the communication apparatus 100. The drive 160reads out information recorded on a removable storage medium that isattached thereto, such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, amagneto-optical disk, or a semiconductor memory, and then outputs theinformation to the RAM 146. The drive 160 is also able to writeinformation to a removable storage medium.

The connection port 162 is a bus for connection with the informationprocessing device or peripheral devices provided outside thecommunication apparatus 100. The connection port 162 may be universalserial bus (USB).

The communication control device 164 is an example of the communicationunit 112 of the communication apparatus 100, and is a communicationinterface constituted by a communication apparatus for connection with anetwork. The communication control device 164 may be an infraredcommunication compatible device, a wireless local area network (LAN)compatible communication apparatus, a long-term evolution (LTE)compatible communication apparatus, or a wired communication apparatusthat performs communication through wire.

5. Conclusion

Hereinabove, according to the first embodiment of the presentdisclosure, the state of the AP module is transitioned in the case wherea communication environment is changed, and therefore it is possible tocontrol operation of the communication apparatus 100 in accordance witha change in communication environment while reducing power consumption.Further, according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure, acondition for transitioning the state of the AP module 120 to the activestate is added, and therefore it is possible to improve accuracy of anoperation timing of the AP module 120 and further reduce powerconsumption.

The preferred embodiment(s) of the present disclosure has/have beendescribed above with reference to the accompanying drawings, whilst thepresent disclosure is not limited to the above examples. A personskilled in the art may find various alterations and modifications withinthe scope of the appended claims, and it should be understood that theywill naturally come under the technical scope of the present disclosure.

Although, for example, a module subjected to state transition control isa module such as the AP module 120 or the camera module 130 in the aboveembodiments, this technology is not limited to such examples. Forexample, the module subjected to state transition control may be anarbitrary processing module having a power supply control function.

Further, in the above examples, there has been described an examplewhere the communication module 110 operates in accordance with thespecification of the BLE. However, the communication module 110 mayoperate in accordance with specification of short-range wirelesscommunication other than BLE or Bluetooth as long as the above-mentionedoperation can be performed.

Further, the effects described in this specification are merelyillustrative or exemplified effects, and are not limitative. That is,with or in the place of the above effects, the technology according tothe present disclosure may achieve other effects that are clear to thoseskilled in the art based on the description of this specification.

Additionally, the present technology may also be configured as below.

(1)

A communication apparatus including:

a control module configured to control operation of the communicationapparatus; and

a communication module configured to determine whether or notinformation obtained by reception from another communication apparatushas been changed and control state transition of the control module in acase where it is determined that the information obtained by thereception has been changed.

(2)

The communication apparatus according to (1),

wherein control of the state transition of the control module includestransition of a state of the control module to an active state.

(3)

The communication apparatus according to (2), wherein

the information obtained by the reception includes existence informationcontaining identification information of another communication apparatusthat communicably exists in the vicinity of the communication apparatus,and

in a case where reception from another communication apparatus havingidentification information that is not contained in the existenceinformation is performed, the communication module determines that theexistence information has been changed and causes transition of thestate of the control module to the active state.

(4)

The communication apparatus according to (3),

wherein, when, after previous reception from another communicationapparatus having the identification information contained in theexistence information, further reception from the another communicationapparatus has not been performed and a time period determined in advancehas elapsed, the communication module determines that the existenceinformation has been changed and causes transition of the state of thecontrol module to the active state.

(5)

The communication apparatus according to any one of (2) to (4), wherein

the information obtained by the reception includes reception strengthinformation of another communication apparatus, and

in a case where a reception strength has been changed, the communicationmodule determines that the reception strength information has beenchanged and causes transition of the state of the control module to theactive state.

(6)

The communication apparatus according to any one of (2) to (5), wherein

the control module includes a first control module and a second controlmodule,

the communication module causes transition of a state of the firstcontrol module to an active state as the control of the state transitionof the control module, and

the first control module causes transition of a state of the secondcontrol module to an active state on the basis of a result of processingof the first control module.

(7)

The communication apparatus according to (6), wherein

the first control module is a sensor module configured to detect anexternal environment of the communication apparatus, and

the second control module is an application processor module.

(8)

The communication apparatus according to any one of (2) to (7), wherein

the control module includes an application processor module, and

the application processor module transitions to an active state and thenshows, to a user, information related to a change in the informationobtained by the reception.

(9)

The communication apparatus according to (8),

wherein, based on information specifying another communication apparatusreceived from the another communication apparatus, the applicationprocessor module shows, to a user, information of the anothercommunication apparatus related to a change in the information obtainedby the reception.

(10)

The communication apparatus according to any one of (7) to (9),

wherein the application processor module provides information receivedfrom another communication apparatus to an external device outside thecommunication apparatus.

(11)

The communication apparatus according to (4), wherein

the control of the state transition of the control module includestransition of the state of the control module to an inactive state, and

when the time period determined in advance has elapsed, thecommunication module deletes the identification information of theanother communication apparatus from the existence information, and, ina case where no identification information of another communicationapparatus is contained in the existence information, the communicationmodule causes transition of the state of the control module to aninactive state.

(12)

A communication method including:

controlling operation of a communication apparatus by using a controlmodule;

determining whether or not information obtained by reception fromanother communication apparatus has been changed; and

controlling state transition of the control module in a case where it isdetermined that the information obtained by the reception has beenchanged.

(13)

A program causing a computer to realize

a function of controlling operation of a communication apparatus byusing a control module,

a function of determining whether or not information obtained byreception from another communication apparatus has been changed, and

a function of controlling state transition of the control module in acase where it is determined that the information obtained by thereception has been changed.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   100 communication apparatus-   110 communication module-   112 communication unit-   114 determination unit-   116 storage unit-   118 control unit-   120 application processor module-   130 camera module-   132 control unit-   134 image pickup unit-   136 recognition unit-   138 storage unit

1. (canceled)
 2. A communication apparatus comprising: circuitryconfigured to implement: a control module configured to controloperation of the communication apparatus; and a communication moduleconfigured to determine whether or not reception strength information ofanother communication apparatus has been changed; and control statetransition of the control module in a case where it is determined thatthe reception strength information has been changed.
 3. Thecommunication apparatus according to claim 2, wherein control of thestate transition of the control module includes transition of a state ofthe control module to an active state.
 4. The communication apparatusaccording to claim 3, wherein the control of the state transition of thecontrol module includes transition of the state of the control modulefrom a sleep state to the active stale.
 5. The communication apparatusof claim 3, wherein the communication module is configured to determinewhether the reception strength information has been changed over athreshold, and wherein in response to a determination that the receptionstrength information has been changed over the threshold, thecommunication module is configured to inform the control module ofinformation indicating that the reception strength information has beenchanged, and the state of the control module is transitioned to theactive state.
 6. The communication apparatus of claim 2, wherein thecommunication module is configured to receive existence information fromthe another communication apparatus; determine whether the existenceinformation contains identification information; and in response to adetermination that the existence information does not contain theidentification information, add the identification information to theexistence information, detect a reception strength of the existenceinformation, and store the detected reception strength in the receptionstrength information associated with the identification information. 7.The communication apparatus of claim 6, wherein the communication moduleis configured to determine whether the detected reception strength isequal to or larger than a threshold; and in response to a determinationthat the detected reception strength is not equal to or larger than thethreshold, not perform information notification with respect to thecontrol module.
 8. The communication apparatus of claim 2, wherein thecommunication module is configured to determine whether the receptionstrength information has been changed from a value less than a thresholdto a value equal to or larger than the threshold; and in response to adetermination that the reception strength information has been changedfrom the value less than the threshold to the value equal to or largerthan the threshold, notify the control module of information indicatingthat the reception strength information has been changed.
 9. Thecommunication apparatus of claim 2, wherein the communication module isconfigured to determine whether the reception strength information hasbeen changed from a value less than a threshold to a value equal to orlarger than the threshold; and in response to a determination that thereception strength information has not been changed from the value lessthan the threshold to the value equal to or larger than the threshold,not notify the control module of information indicating that thereception strength information has been changed, and update thereception strength information to the changed reception strengthinformation.
 10. The communication apparatus of claim 2, wherein thecommunication module is configured to determine whether the receptionstrength information has been changed from a value equal to or largerthan a threshold to a value less than the threshold; and in response toa determination that the reception strength information has been changedfrom the value equal to or larger than the threshold to the value lessthan the threshold, notify the control module of information indicatingthat the reception strength information has been changed.
 11. A methodperformed using circuitry of a communication apparatus, the methodcomprising: controlling the circuitry to implement a control moduleconfigured to control operation of the communication apparatus; andcontrolling the circuitry to implement a communication module configuredto determine whether or not reception strength information of anothercommunication apparatus has been changed and control state transition ofthe control module in a case where it is determined that the receptionstrength information has been changed.
 12. A non-transitory,computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed incircuitry of a communication apparatus, control the circuitry to carryout a method comprising: implementing a control module configured tocontrol operation of the communication apparatus; and implementing acommunication module configured to determine whether or not receptionstrength information of another communication apparatus has been changedand control state transition of the control module in a case where it isdetermined that the reception strength information has been changed.